Arrest robbers or face stir: Muktsar traders serve ultimatum on police

Tribune News Service

Archit Watts

Muktsar, January 8

Following the recent bandh observed by shopkeepers of Gidderbaha and Kotkapura towns over the ‘deteriorating’ law and order situation there, those in Muktsar too have given an ultimatum to the police over the arrest of armed robbers active in and around the town or face a similar protest in the coming days.

On Saturday night, three youngsters, with their faces covered and carrying sharp-edged weapons, looted Rs 20,000 from a shop on Kacha Thandewala road here. Further, two other armed persons robbed a trader, who was from Kupwara district in Srinagar, of Rs 45,000 and a cellphone when he was returning from Kotli Devan village on Sunday evening after selling shawls.

Late in the evening the same day, three robbers targeted a registered medical practitioner on Bura Gujjar road here and looted Rs 6,000 from his clinic. The victim, Vijay Sukhija, said that, “At 8.30 pm, a youngster with his face covered entered his clinic and asked him to check his blood pressure. Meanwhile, two more youngsters with their faces covered entered and started hitting me with a sharp-edged weapon and ran away after stealing Rs 6,000.

Further, a local youngster claimed that three armed persons abducted him from a park in the town on December 22 and took him to an unidentified place in a car, robbed him of Rs 22,400 and left him near Marh Mallu village.

A large number of shopkeepers lodged a symbolic protest at the Muktsar Sadar police station on Sunday evening. They said that they would hold a meeting on Tuesday and decide on the future course of action. Muktsar SSP Bhagirath Singh Meena today held a press conference in Malout town, where he said that four persons of a robbers gang had been arrested.

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